Edith 'Edie' Oliff Vanover, age 40 of Nokesville,
Virginia died Monday, December 30, 2002 at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church.
Mrs. Vanover was a longtime resident of Prince William County and a member of
New Life Community Church, Manassas where she was a team leader in Sunday
School. She was employed with Northern Virginia Family Services as a senior
family support worker. She was preceded in death by her parents, Donald Clayton
Oliff, Sr., and Gwendolyn Marie Anderson Oliff. Survivors include her husband of
20 years, Randall Eric Vanover, two daughters, Maghan M. Vanover and Courtney E.
Vanover, one son, Randall 'Eric' Vanover, Jr. all of the home, two sisters,
JoDale O. Tornatore, of Amissville and Cindy Oliff Mosier, of Bristow, one
brother, Clay Oliff, Jr. , of Wardensville, West Virginia, nieces and nephews,
her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Lila and Royce Vanover, of Goldvein. The
family will receive friends from 6:00-9:00 P.M. Friday, January 3, 2003 at Price
Funeral Home, 9609 Center Street, Manassas. Funeral services will be held 11:00
A.M. Saturday, January 4, 2003 at Westover Baptist Church, 10301 Sudley Manor
Drive, Manassas with Rev. Steve Dawson officiating. Interment will follow at
Stonewall Memory Gardens, Manassas.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of
contributions to the Edie Vanover Children¹s Educational Trust Fund, c/o Sun
Trust Bank, 7915 Sudley Rd., Manassas, VA 20109 in memory of Edith Oliff
Vanover.

Condolences may be sent to www.pricefh.com.
Published in the Potomac News and Manassas
Journal Messenger on 1/2/2003.

Prince William Times Newspaper

Fauquier Times Democrat

By Tara Slate Donaldson January 10, 2003

Edith Oliff Vanover, a popular social worker and mother of
three, was killed Dec. 30 in a crash on Route 28. Known to her friends and family as "Edie," Vanover was the wife of
Randall Eric Vanover and the mother of Randall "Eric" Jr., Maghan and Courtney
Vanover. The family lives on Free Street in Nokesville. Vanover died less than a week after her 20th wedding
anniversary, said Randall's brother, Rick Vanover. "She was more than a sister-in-law, she became a real
sister," he said Tuesday. "She was a friend and someone who could always be
counted on to do her very best." Vanover, 40, was a Sunday school team leader at New Life
Community Church in Manassas and worked at Northern Virginia Family Services as
a senior family support worker. "Edie was a highly competent, funny, supportive and
non-judgmental person who dependably gave of her talents and energies," said
Gretchen Almstead, supervisor for the Prince William Area Healthy Families
program. "What appeared to others as effortless talent at home visiting was a
result of her continual openness to learning, and striving towards self and
program improvement." Vanover worked at NVFS since January 1999. Her 2002 job
evaluation states that "she is a vocal member of the team, a strong and
effective leader who uses positive influence to work towards improvement and
creative solutions. She is always alert to opportunities to improve herself, her
work and the program." Vanover was known for her personal touch and close
relationships with the families she served. After her death, a coworker e-mailed Almstead to share a
story about accompanying Vanover on a visit to a family she had been working
with. "The mother could not say enough about how much Edie had
helped her family--how Edie had become like a member of the family," the e-mail
states. "She told me that she didn't believe any of her successes would have
been possible without Edie's support and encouragement." Throughout the community, the words "love," "compassion"
and "caring" are used to describe Vanover. According to Rick Vanover, on the day she died, she was on
her way to work. Although it was her day off, she was called into the office
because she was needed. "She lost her life on her way to serve others," he said,
describing her as someone who was a "devoted and compassionate servant of those
less fortunate." According to 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn, a spokeswoman for the
Prince William Police Department, Vanover was heading north on Route 28 around
9:24 a.m. when she lost control of her car at the bridge over Broad Run. Her
Jeep Wrangler slid into the southbound lane, colliding with a pickup truck
driven by 76-year-old Samuel Warring of Coles Drive in Manassas. Vanover, Warring and his passenger, 47-year-old Karen
Warring of the same address, were flown to Fairfax Inova Hospital, where Vanover
died later in the day. As of Jan. 3, Karen Warring's condition had been upgraded
to serious but Samuel Warring remained in critical condition. Vanover was preceded in death by her parents, Donald
Clayton Oliff, Sr. and Gwendolyn Marie Anderson Oliff. Along with her husband and children, she is survived by
two sisters, JoDale O. Tornatore, of Amissville, Va. and Cindy Oliff Mosier, of
Bristow, and one brother, Clay Oliff, Jr., of Wardensville, W.Va. Also surviving are nieces, nephews and her mother-in-law
and father-in-law, Lila and Royce Vanover, of Goldvein, Va. The family received friends at Price Funeral Home in
Manassas on Friday, Jan. 3. Funeral services were held Saturday, Jan. 4, at Westover
Baptist Church in Manassas with the Rev. Steve Dawson officiating. Vanover was
buried at Stonewall Memory Gardens in Manassas. A trust fund has been established to pay for her
children's education. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions
to the Edie Vanover Children's Educational Trust Fund, c/o Sun Trust Bank, 7915
Sudley Rd., Manassas, VA 20109 in memory of Edie Oliff Vanover.